A Christmas to Remember
by shegoismyfav
Summary: No one deserves to be alone on Christmas, and the only one in all of Townsville who seems to be is Ms. Bellum. What are the girls to do? Why, invite her to spend Christmas with them of course! T for mention of alcohol, though none is actually consumed. Yay, AU fluff! It wouldn't let me add her, but Buttercup is in this, too!


It was that time of year again. Christmas. People were joyful, kids were excited, families got along and gathered together, even the villains and monsters took a break from crime. It should have been the happiest and easiest time of the year for her. The Mayor was even easier to handle since all he did was constantly change his wish list or babble about pickles.

But she just couldn't bring herself to get into the Christmas spirit. Looking around, she saw that everyone had someone to spend the special day with. The Mayor had his wife, Ms. Keane had her family that she was going to visit, the girls had the Professor, even Mojo Jojo had Him and the boys! But she didn't have anyone, that is, unless you counted her friend Jack Daniels. It was hard for anyone to believe that someone like her wouldn't have family or friends to spend the day with, but she didn't.

Her parents had died years ago and since she was an only child she had no siblings to visit. Working for the Mayor ensured long hours and endless trouble so she didn't have very many friends either. Oh sure, everyone liked her, but she could count on one hand the number of actual friends she had. And they both had plans. So, as Ms. Bellum walked home that crisp Christmas Eve, she couldn't help but feel a little lonely and a bit bitter.

* * *

At the Utonium household, Christmas Eve was in full swing. As always, the girls were competing to see who could finish their chores first and put the star on top of the tree. And, as always, Blossom finished first.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Bubbles cried.

"Yeah, you always finish first!" said Buttercup.

"Can I help it if I'm faster than you?" retorted Blossom.

"You bake cookies! It takes like, two minutes! We get the tree and decorate the whole house!" the brunette puff argued. Blossom bit her lip, feeling a bit guilty that she put the star on top every year. Reluctantly, she held it out to Bubbles, who squealed and shot to the top of the tree. "Well, at least you let someone else put it on," Buttercup grouched.

"Ready, girls?" Professor Utonium asked.

"Ready, Professor!" all three chorused.

With a smile, the man clicked the two plugs he had been holding together. The lights on the tree glowed happily, and all four oohed and ahhed. And then...they blinked out. The accompanying awww was not one of amazement.

"These darn lights! This happens every year!" the Professor yelled while fiddling with the cords.

The lights continued to blink on and off as the man tried to fix them. The girls grew bored with his mutterings after a bit, and decided to go watch tv. There were a few Christmas specials on, and after arguing they settled on _Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer_. Over the sound of their giggling or awws, the Professor could be heard grumbling in the background as he continued to fiddle with the lights.

* * *

Back at Ms. Bellum's house, she had changed and showered, and was currently curled up in a chair in front of her fireplace. She sighed and looked out on snow covered Townsville. From her home atop a hill she could see silhouettes of families decorating trees, baking cookies, and watching tv. The loneliness returned tenfold, and she seriously considered getting a drink. Not that she drank often or was an alcoholic, she mainly kept it for appearances.

She sighed as she glanced around her large living room. It was bare of any decorations, save a small wrapped envelope the Mayor had given her earlier in the evening. Her luck it had something to do with pickles. That was her sole Christmas present, though the girls had mentioned something about a gift earlier in the week when she'd last seen them. Her gift to them had already been delivered in the form of one hundred dollars each.

She sighed again (she had been doing an awful lot of that lately) and decided to have a drink, just a small one, before turning in early.

* * *

Finally, the Professor had managed to fix the lights. They were all snuggled together watching the end of _Rudolph_ when one of the packages caught Blossom's eye. She smiled as the lights glittered off the shiny red paper. Inside was Ms. Bellum's present, a golden necklace with a ruby pendant. She and her sisters had saved their allowance for months to buy that necklace, and still ended up needing help from the Professor.

Sure they'd gone without new video games or toys for a while, but they agreed it was worth it for someone they considered a mother. Besides, Ms. Bellum's very generous gift of one hundred dollars each more than made up for their lack of toys. The pink puff frowned as she realized something. The older redhead had seemed sad when they'd seen her earlier in the week. She'd asked them about their plans for Christmas, which they'd gladly told her, and she had looked lonely and sad.

Blossom then realized she'd never heard what Ms. Bellum's plans were. Every time they'd asked she'd change the subject to something else. The girl wondered if maybe she didn't have any plans or worse, was alone on Christmas. The movie ended, and while the Professor got up to get a snack, she pulled her sisters close.

"Girls, I've been thinking-what if Ms. Bellum is alone for Christmas?"

"That's ridiculous, Blossom," scoffed Buttercup. "Everyone loves her. She's gotta be spending Christmas with someone."

"Buttercup's right, everyone loves Ms. Bellum," Bubbles added.

"No, hear me out. Didn't she look a little sad when we were describing our plans to her? And she never did tell us what hers were, she always changed the subject."

"So? Maybe she's got a hot date and didn't want to talk about it," countered Buttercup.

"I don't know, Buttercup. Now that Blossom mentions it, she did seem a little sad all week."

"And no one should be alone on Christmas. So, what d'ya say we ask the Professor if she can spend Christmas with us?"

"Well, all right," Buttercup agreed warily.

"Aw, come on, you know he'll say yes. He's had a crush on her forever!" Blossom giggled as she flew to the kitchen, sisters in tow.

"Professor! We have a question for you!" Bubbles called as they flew in.

"What is it, girls? I'm a bit busy," he asked as he measured the perfect amount of pretzels for party mix.

Bubbles and Buttercup shared a look before shoving Blossom forward. She glared at them before facing the man.

"Umm, Professor? You know how you always say that Christmas isn't about the presents, it's about family and the love they share?"

"Yes, Blossom."

"And remember how you said that you thought one of the worst things in the world was to be alone on Christmas?"

"Yes, Blossom," he said, looking around the large bowl he had been making party mix in.

"Well, if we knew someone who was going to be alone on Christmas, and they were our friend, could they celebrate with us?"

"It would depend on just who that friend was."

Blossom looked back at her sisters, who motioned for her to go on.

"What if I told you it was someone you've liked for a long time, someone we all love?"

"Such as?"

"Ms. Bellum."

The Professor stepped back, shocked at the turn of events. He had liked her for as long as he could remember, but never had the courage to approach her. He knew the girls knew he liked her, and he thought perhaps it was another ploy to get him together with someone they liked. He sighed before going over to sit at the table, waving them over to join him.

"Now, girls," he started once they were settled on his lap. "I know you think I'm lonely and I need someone to share my life with, but I'm perfectly happy the way things are. Just because I've liked Ms. Bellum for a while now doesn't mean we need to intrude on her vacation and holiday celebration."

"But, Professor-" Blossom started, but was cut off.

"No, Blossom. Now, I know you girls look up to her quite a bit, but that's no reason to-"

"Professor, she's tellin' the truth!" Buttercup yelled, flying into the air.

"What?" he asked, looking confused.

It wasn't like Buttercup to agree with Blossom. If anything, they usually disagreed so much that they fought.

"If you'll just let her explain, maybe you'll understand why we want this so badly."

"Thanks, Buttercup," Blossom said, smiling at her sister. "Professor, when we were talking to Ms. Bellum earlier this week she seemed really sad. She asked us about our plans for Christmas and when we told her she looked even sadder. And then, when we asked her what she was going to do, she changed the subject. We think she might not have any plans. So can she spend Christmas with us? Please?"

He was torn. On one hand, if he said no then the girls would be mad at him for who knew how long. On the other, if he said yes, then he would be tortured with the woman of his dreams being within reach. And on yet another, what if the girls were wrong and she did have plans and he agreed. They would be so disappointed.

He was torn out of his musings when one of the girls tugged on his sleeve. Bubbles was looking up at him with such a pleading gaze that he momentarily forgot why it was such a bad idea.

"Please, Daddy?"

Well, that clenched it. He just couldn't say no when she called him that.

"Oh, all right. But make sure you're not interrupting anything."

"Thanks, Professor, you're the best!" Blossom cried, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

All three girls zipped out of the kitchen, donned their coats, and shot out the door to go see Ms. Bellum. The Professor groaned and slumped in the chair.

"What have I done?" he asked himself quietly.

* * *

Ms. Bellum had just finished pouring her first drink of the evening and sat back down in her chair when she heard a knock at the door.

"Now who could that be?" she wondered aloud as she went to answer it.

To say she was shocked to see the girls on her porch didn't quite describe her reaction.

"Hi, Ms. Bellum!" said Blossom.

"Merry Christmas!" said Bubbles.

"Can we come in?" asked Buttercup bluntly.

In spite of her surprise and lingering melancholy, she smiled and allowed them inside. They floated in and followed her to her living room, and once they saw where her chair was positioned, settled on the floor in front of it. Still smiling, they could do that to a person, she settled back into her chair. She noticed they were looking around, and from the look of their faces they noticed her lack of decorations. Sure enough, Blossom was the first to turn back and ask her about it.

"Ms. Bellum, where's your decorations?"

"I didn't feel like putting them up this year."

"How come?"

"I just..."

How was she supposed to explain she wasn't in the Christmas spirit to three five year olds. Fortunately, she didn't have to, as something else had grabbed Bubbles' attention. Unfortunately, that something just happened to be the glass of alcohol she still held in her hands.

"What's that?" asked the innocent little girl.

"It's...um...juice."

"Really? I've never seen juice that's brown."

"That's because it's special and only adults can drink it."

"Oh, okay!" Bubbles said happily.

She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, glad that the crisis had been averted.

"So, girls, why are you here when I know you should be at home watching a Christmas movie with the Professor?"

"Well, it's kind of hard to explain." Ms. Bellum gave Blossom a look that told her to go for it. "When we talked to you earlier this week you seemed really sad about something. And when we tried to get you to tell us what you were going to do for Christmas you changed the subject really fast. We-er, I, started thinking and realized that maybe the reason you didn't want to talk about your plans was because you didn't have any. Seeing that you have no decorations up confirms that theory."

She looked at her knowingly, and she couldn't help the small smile that edged its way onto her face. Of course she wouldn't be able to fool Blossom.

"And what does any of that have to do with you?"

She wasn't trying to be mean, honestly she wasn't, but she was confused and still a bit bitter about her lack of holiday plans. Bubbles seemed to sense this and flew onto her lap.

"No deserves to be alone on Christmas."

"Bubbles is right. So, what we really want to ask is this-Will you spend Christmas with us?"

She was so shocked she couldn't speak. Of course she'd love to, she loved the girls as if they were her own, but there was the Professor to consider. Did he know they were there? And further more, could she handle being around him without doing something about it? She had liked him for a while now, but he always seemed so busy that she never got the chance to talk to him.

"I-Girls, I don't know what to say."

"Well, that's easy. Say yes," Buttercup said, speaking for the first time since they'd arrived.

"I'd love to, but does the Professor know you're here?"

"Oh yeah, we asked him. He's fine with it."

"Well, if you're sure..." Ms. Bellum could feel what little resistance she had crumbling, and the pleading look the girls were giving her weren't helping. "All right, yes, I'd love to spend the holidays with you."

They flew into the air cheering and she smiled, finally feeling the bitterness leave her heart.

"So, what do I need?"

"Ooh, you'll need your pajamas-"

"-clothes for tomorrow-"

"-your coat-"

Their voices were overlapping and she laughed, causing them to hush.

"Okay, okay, I get it. An overnight bag complete with clothes for tomorrow."

She stood to go to her room and gather the aforementioned items, pausing to dump her drink down the drain as she went.

"We're gonna fly home, okay? I just wanted to warn you!" Blossom called from behind her.

"That's fine, I've been flying with you before," she called back.

"Oh yeah," they mumbled, remembering rescues where they had to fly with her and the Mayor.

* * *

As soon as the older woman disappeared upstairs, the girls turned to face each other.

"This is gonna be so cool!" Buttercup said, glad to finally have someone to control the Professor.

"I know! Finally, someone who'll make sure the Professor doesn't stay up all night watching re-runs of _A_ _Christmas Story_!" Blossom giggled.

"It'll be like having a mommy," Bubbles said.

The other two stopped and stared at her before looking at each other and smiling.

"Yeah, it will be," agreed Blossom.

* * *

Back at home, the Professor was rushing around tidying up the house. If the woman he loved was going to be in it, it was going to be clean. Finally satisfied, he started a fire in the fireplace and dimmed the lights, relaxing to watch the tree and glow from the fire.

* * *

"Okay, girls, I'm ready," Ms. Bellum said as she pulled on her second glove.

All four stepped out on her front porch, and she locked up the house. She checked it one last time to make sure all the lights were off and the the fire was out. Satisfied, she stepped down onto the walkway and held out her arms. Blossom went to her right and Buttercup to the left with Bubbles to support her legs.

"We promise we won't drop you," Blossom said before they took off.

Though extremely cold, the view from the air was wonderful. All the lights twinkling and the snow glistening, it was right off of a postcard. The flight was short and quick, and in no time they had landed on the girls' front lawn. She noticed the lights were out and wondered what was going on inside. She looked to the girls to see if they knew, but they looked even more confused than her.

"Well let's go see what's goin' on," Buttercup said as she flew inside.

Her sisters shrugged and followed, beckoning for her to follow as well. Taking a deep breath she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. The scene was beautiful. The light from the fire lit everything with a gentle glow, and the tree sparkled as it's lights reflected off the ornaments. Apparently none of the girls were expecting it either as they all uttered a soft 'woah' when they saw it.

"Oh, you're back," the Professor said as he stood from his chair. He stopped when he saw Ms. Bellum. "Oh, so you did come."

"Yes," she replied quietly.

Noticing the nervousness and the tension, Blossom silently zipped to the kitchen and incinerated all the cookies she had made. She disposed of the ashes and flew back out into the awkward silence.

"Oh man, we forgot to make cookies! Now Santa won't want to leaves us presents! Will you help us, Ms. Bellum?"

"But you already-ow!" Buttercup yelped as Blossom elbowed her in the ribs. "Um, I mean, how could you forget! That was so stupid!"

The older woman knew the girls were fibbing, but she was also grateful for the escape.

"Of course I'll help you, just let me take my coat off."

The girls smiled and flew into the kitchen, presumably to get out the baking supplies. She smiled at the Professor as she passed, and he smiled back, nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm glad you could come," he said, his voice stopping her in the doorway.

"I am, too," she replied without turning around.

An hour and a half later, cookies had been successfully baked and iced. There were snowmen, trees, stars, and the traditional gingerbread men. The women were laughing and, being curious, the Professor wandered in to see what was going on. Ms. Bellum was the first to spot him, and she smiled brightly, brushing her hair out of her face. He noticed she had blue icing smeared across her face and clothes.

Green icing covered her hands. Looking at his children he discovered them to be in the same predicament with various colors of icing ranging from yellow to white.

"Having fun are we?" he asked playfully, attempting to snag a cookie, only to have his hand slapped away by Buttercup.

"Uh-uh, Professor," she said, "those are for Santa."

"But you can have some of these," Ms. Bellum said, offering him a tray he hadn't noticed before.

He took one numbly, barely tasting it.

"Is it good?" Blossom asked.

"Uh-huh," he replied absentmindedly, not taking his eyes off the redheaded beauty in front of him.

She blushed and sat the tray down, making herself the first to break eye contact.

"I knew they would be! Ms. Bellum's the best cook ever! You should have seen her making the batter! It was so cool!" Blossom gushed.

"I'm sure it was," he laughed, finally acknowledging them with more than a few words. "But you all seem to be covered in icing. What to do, what to do. I know; if you take your bath then we'll all settle down and watch _How_ _the Grinch Stole Christmas_. But you have to hurry, it starts in twenty minutes."

His answer was three streaks of multicolored light zipping passed him and up the stairs. The next thing he heard was arguing over what bubble bath they wanted to use. He chuckled lightly, savoring the moment. He heard a small cough from behind him and turned to find a relaxed Ms. Bellum.

"Does everyone include me?" she asked.

"You're more than welcome to join us. Actually, I think if you didn't the girls would tie you to a chair and force you." She laughed, and the sound made his heart soar. "You're a little dirty yourself. If you'd like to freshen up there's a bathroom connected to the guest room."

"I'd love that, actually."

"I'll show you where it is."

After he had led her to her room, he went back downstairs and busied himself cleaning up the kitchen. It was amazing the mess four women could make by simply baking cookies. He had just thrown the last of the crumbs into the trash can when he heard his girls zipping back downstairs.

"Where's Ms. Bellum?" Bubbles asked.

"Yeah, isn't she gonna watch tv with us?" asked Blossom.

"She should be down soon, girls. She wanted to shower, too."

"No need to worry, girls, I'm right here."

All four turned at the sound of her voice. She was in a dark red night gown that stopped at her mid thigh, and it was somewhat thin. It was covered by her robe cinched loosely around her waist. Her hair had obviously been dried, but was still a little damp at the edges, causing it to cling to her face. Without thinking, the Professor stepped forward and brushed it away.

He let his hand linger for a moment and she leaned into his touch. They jumped apart, blushing wildly, when they heard giggles a few feet away.

"Are we gonna watch a movie or what?" Buttercup asked as she flew into the living room.

"We're coming, hold on a second!" Blossom yelled a she flew after her sister, Bubbles in tow.

Deciding he couldn't screw up any worse, the Professor held out his arm for Ms. Bellum to take. She accepted and he escorted her into the living room. They sat on the couch with the girls lying on the floor at their feet. Each was thinking the same thing-_can he/she possibly feel the same way_?

The girls made it through _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ and by then it was their bedtime. They begged to be allowed to stay up and watch _White Christmas_, which came on next. He relented. After all, Christmas only comes once a year. As he knew they would, they fell asleep a third of the way through.

Ms. Bellum had been steadily inching her way closer to him, and he calmly let her. Hopefully this would end the way he wanted it to. That's why when she laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled into his side he did nothing but wrap his arm around her. They stayed snuggled together for the remainder of the film, and by the end it was getting late. Ms. Bellum was partially asleep, but no so much that she missed the Professor turn the tv off.

"I've always loved that old movie," he whispered so as not to wake his girls.

"I have, too," she responded sleepily.

"You know, the girls look up to and admire you quite a bit."

"I know, and I try to be a good role model for them."

"I admire you quite a bit, too."

She sat up to look at him, suddenly wide awake. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? He wasn't looking at her, and she could just make out a faint blush in the glow from the fire.

"Professor, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On your answer."

"Then my answer is this; I admire you quite a bit, too."

He turned to face her, and they locked gazes.

"I've liked you for quite some time," he admitted quietly.

"Well that's funny, because I've liked you for quite some time, too."

They were about to kiss, but one of the girls mumbled and shifted in her sleep. They leaned back, both looking at the children on the floor.

"I'd better get them to bed," the Professor said as he stood. "Wouldn't want Santa to pass over the house because they weren't in bed."

"No, we wouldn't," she agreed, standing as well and lifting Buttercup into her arms.

The Professor stared at her for a second before smiling and turning to lead the way up the stairs. Together they tucked the three girls into bed, though she stepped back as he kissed them each goodnight. She was smiling softly when he turned to face her and wave her over. She approached with a questioning look. He nodded his head toward them, and she shook her head.

"Go ahead," he whispered.

"Are you sure?"

"You're like their mother. Go on."

Slowly, she leaned down and kissed each one on the forehead. Each girl smiled a bit bigger in their sleep, or in Buttercup's case simply smiled. They eased out of the girls' room, leaving the door open a crack for Bubbles, and the domesticity of the situation didn't escape them, nor did it feel wrong. They bid each other goodnight and went to their respective bedroom, each hoping the night hadn't been a dream.

* * *

Christmas morning dawned bright and early, and as usual the Professor was the first up. Before he went to wake up the girls he spared a look into the guest room. Ms. Bellum was still sleeping soundly, and he smiled mischievously. If he had anything to do with it, she would soon be getting a wake up call from a certain superhero team. Quietly, he continued down the hall and slipped into the girls' bedroom.

Taking a running start, he began jumping on the bed.

"It's Christmas! It's Christmas!" he said excitedly, not unlike a small child. The girls shot out of bed, more than ready to see what Santa had brought. "Oh and girls?" They stopped. "Ms. Bellum is still asleep. We wouldn't want her to miss opening presents, would we?"

They giggled before flying down the hall to wake up the older woman. They looked in through a cracked door and grinned, already realizing how much fun this could be.

"All right, girls, on my count," Blossom said, slowly easing the door open. "One, two, three!"

They zipped into the room laughing and squealing, making a perfect landing on the sleeping woman. She jerked awake and was greeted with the sight of three very excited little girls.

"Come on, Ms. Bellum!" Bubbles, said.

"We're going downstairs-" Blossom started.

"To rip into some presents!" Buttercup finished.

"Come on! Get up!" they chorused.

"Okay, okay," she replied, laughing a little as she sat up. "I'm up, I'm up!"

They barely gave her time to tug on her robe before practically pulling her downstairs. The Professor was already waiting beside the tree, bouncing in anticipation like a child. She laughed as she realized she was basically the only adult in the situation. She took her seat beside the man as the girls began handing out presents at a rapid fire pace.

* * *

Much later in the morning, after presents had been opened and breakfast eaten, they were once again gathered in front of the tree, this time watching the girls play with their new toys. Ms. Bellum was once again curled into the Professor's side, who had settled down considerably after opening gifts.

"You know, this has been one of the best Christmases I can remember," Ms. Bellum said as she smiled at Bubbles' new painting.

"Same here," he replied, neither noticing Blossom had disappeared.

"Hey, Professor, what's that?" Buttercup asked, pointing to the mistletoe now hovering above their heads.

They looked up and blushed, sending mock scolding looks to a giggling Blossom.

"Well, it is tradition," Ms. Bellum said with a smile.

"That it is," replied the Professor.

"Merry Christmas, John," she whispered as they got closer together.

"Merry Christmas, Sara," he replied just before their lips met.

They shared their first kiss, oblivious to the cheers in the background.


End file.
